In August 1862, Lincoln stated: "If I could save the Union
without freeing any slaves I would do it; and if I could save
it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save
it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that."
In fact, by that time, immense pressure was building to end slavery
and Lincoln had privately concluded that he could save the Union
only by issuing an emancipation proclamation, which he had already
drafted.

The pressure came from a handful of field commanders, Republicans
in Congress, abolitionists, and slaves themselves. In May 1861,
General Benjamin Butler (1818-1893), who had been a lawyer and
a politician before the war, had declared slaves who escaped to
Union lines "contraband of war," not returnable to their
masters. In August, Major General John C. Freemont, commander
of Union forces in Missouri, had issued an order freeing the slaves
of Confederate sympathizers in Missouri. Lincoln, incensed by
Freemont assumption of authority and fearful that the
measure would "alarm our Southern Union friends, and turn
them against us," revoked the order, but allowed Union generals
discretion in providing refuge to fugitive slaves.

Congress, too, adopted a series of antislavery measures. In
August 1861, it passed a Confiscation Act, authorizing the seizure
of all property, including slaves, used for Confederate military
purposes. Then in the spring and summer of 1862, Congress abolished
slavery in the District of Columbia and the territories; prohibited
Union officers from returning fugitive slaves; allowed the President
to enlist African Americans in the army; and called for the seizure
of Confederate property.

The border states' intransigence on the issue of slave emancipation
also pushed the President in a more active direction. In the spring
of 1862, Lincoln persuaded Congress to pass a resolution offering
financial compensation to states that abolished slavery voluntarily.
Three times, Lincoln met with border state members of Congress
to discuss the offer, and even discussed the possibility of emancipation
over a 30-year period. In July, however, the Congressmen rejected
Lincoln's offer.